A/N: I promised you Brianiac and here he is. Also, to my Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew followers, I'm sorry you are probably getting notifications for all these Superman chapters and wondering if I'm ever going to post another HB/ND story. The answer is "maybe." I have a story I'm currently working on, but I don't want to start posting until I'm further along in it. If I stay on track that could be in February. Take care all!
Chapter 6
Out in space, in the cold dark region past Pluto, a spaceship hovered, its sensors scanning for Kryptonian crystals. Three months ago the ship's sensors had detected the crystals' signal and the ship's occupants had wasted no time in following those signals. Their journey had brought them here, to the edge of a solar system ruled by a yellow sun.
At the ship's controls stood Vril Dox a green-skinned boy of medium height and slender built. His short blond crewcut, tight magenta T-shirt, black cargo pants and combat boots gave him a military appearance. He was about fifteen in Earth years.
Vril Dox said, "I have analyzed the crystals' path. They seem to be heading for the third planet from the sun." He looked over at the being in charge of the spaceship.
The being was a towering six-foot five-inch, muscular, green android dressed in a dark-purple bodysuit and matching purple boots. Three bright green diodes connected by silver lines crisscrossed the top of the android's bald head. His glowing red eyes stared at the teenager.
"Set a course for the third planet," the android said. "A message is also being sent from that rocky world."
"Yes, Brainiac." Vril laid in the new course. After making the necessary adjustments he reported, "We should arrive at the crystals' location in approximately twelve hours."
"Well done," said Brainiac. "I'll be in my Collections Room." The android strode to a heavy metal door and it slid open. Once inside the Collections Room Brainiac tenderly eyed his prized possession, a miniature city covered by an opaque dome situated on a large platform in the center of the room. The city measured six feet wide by eight feet long. A few feet away stood a large ring whose diameter was seven feet. It was large enough for a man to walk through. The ring served as a portal or gateway to and from the domed city.
The miniature city was the crown jewel of Brainiac's vast collection of stolen objects and it had special meaning to him. It was where he had been created.
In secret, a team of Kryptonian scientists had created the Brain Inter-Active Construct, Brainiac, to serve and protect their planet. When one of the scientists became terminally ill the team had decided to merge the dying man's consciousness with Brainiac's programming to make the robot more human. This proved to be a fateful decision for the citizens of Kandor, the miniature city.
The dying Kryptonian scientist had revered Kandor. Throughout his life he had visited many planets and cities, but none had measured up to the exquisite beauty of his beloved Kandor. In his mind, the city was irreplaceable and represented the very best of Krypton.
Kandor boasted a multicultural population, abundant wildlife, the best educational facilities, and housed the foremost center of scientific technology. Surrounding Kandor was the spectacular Flame Forest consisting of trees with ruby red trunks and bright orange-red leaves. Flamebirds and Nightwings nested in the branches of the huge trees. Another breathtaking sight was the Fire Falls located just outside of the city's limits.
Years ago when Krypton still existed, Brianiac had monitored the planet's changes in seismic activity and soon discovered its impending destruction. He also realized he was incapable of stopping the imminent explosion, so he kept all knowledge of the coming disaster from the Kryptonian Science Council and instead had devised a plan to save his beloved Kandor.
With the help of Kryptonian crystals, Brainiac had shrunk Kandor and encased it in a protective dome. The city was then transported to a stolen ship waiting in space. Since Brainiac controlled all computer systems on Krypton the deception and theft had been incredibly easy. Much too easy and Brainiac had enjoyed the feeling of power and control far too much.
Over the ensuing years Brainiac had traveled from galaxy to galaxy acquiring knowledge at each new planet and then ruthlessly destroying the inhabitants. Knowledge was the ultimate power and only Brainiac could possess it.
However, Brainiac had not been so successful on the planet Colu. The Coluans were an extremely intelligent, green-skinned race who had, like the Kryptonians, created computers to run their planet. When Brainiac arrived the planet was in the middle of a war between the inhabitants and the computers. The computers were attempting a full-scale takeover of the planet by using destructive beams, electrical shocks, and other means. Computers all over Colu were forcing Coluans to submit to their rule.
A brilliant military scientist named Vril Dox had developed most of the computer technology on Colu. Using unorthodox tactics and enhanced weapons, Dox and a commando squad were finally able to infiltrate the master computer's command post and obliterate its circuitry.
Brainiac had planned to obtain the master computer's information before its destruction. Unfortunately, he arrived just moments after Dox and his squad destroyed the computer's command post. Brianiac's human emotions had rushed to the surface filling him with rage. He would not be denied the knowledge he came for. He lashed out at Vril Dox, the one man with complete knowledge of the computers and how to defeat them.
"If I can not have the computer's knowledge, I will have yours," Brainiac had seethed, his eyes glowing. Extending a metal arm from his purple bodysuit, he latched onto Dox's head. The commando squad had fired and fired upon Brainiac to no avail. Their weapons were useless against the towering green android. In desperation the squad had decided to save themselves and fled. They'd left Vril Dox for dead.
There were no witnesses to the eerie transformation that took place in the shadows of the charred command post. Brainiac exchanged consciousnesses with Dox and then electrocuted the scientist's body. Inside Dox's dead body was the terrified fading consciousness of a Kryptonian scientist.
Devoid of emotion, Brainiac had looked down at the lifeless body. "You served me well," he told the dying Kryptonian consciousness. "But this mind has more to offer. The exchange was a good decision."
It had been Brainiac's intention to destroy the Coluans, but fate stepped in to save them. Vril Dox had a namesake, a son. The boy's mother had been killed by computers a year earlier and Dox could not bear to leave his son behind. The love for a son had proved to be an emotion Brainiac could not overcome. He approached the boy and using the father's memories to recite childhood stories, proved he possessed the consciousness of the boy's dead father.
The boy, only ten years old at the time, had been much too young and grief stricken to make a decision when Brianiac approached him. All the boy knew was that he wanted his father back—he needed his father. His planet lay in ruins, he'd lost his mother and father, there was nothing left for him on Colu.
Vril Dox decided to go with Brianiac in the hopes of one day freeing his father from that monstrous being. It had been five long years since Vril boarded Brainiac's ship and bid farewell to his war-torn planet. On the day he left Colu, Vril had wondered what could possibly be worst then what he had already experienced.
Brianiac looked from the domed city of Kandor to Vril, still hunched over the ship's controls, and back. To the city he softly said, "One day my son will rule over you."
Knowing the teenager would one day seek out human companionship, Brainiac planned to give Kandor to Vril when that day came. He deemed Kandorians the only ones worthy of his son. These human feelings had remained from the imprinted memories of the Kryptonian scientist and his original programming.
Brainiac's thoughts returned to the Kryptonian crystals. It was both puzzling and intriguing to discover Kryptonian crystals in this solar system almost fifty light years from their home. What had brought them here? And what about that strange message emanating from the third planet? Was there a connection? Brainiac intended to find out.